This weekend The Horrible Imaginings Film Festival is coming to San Diego’s wonderful Museum of Photographic Arts (MOPA) for a weekend of horror, innovation, and the exploration of all things horrible.The festival which begins Friday and runs through Sunday, showcases art and film that explores the darker or more macabre sides of the human condition.

Now in its sixth year, The festival was founded to promote and spotlight exemplary new artistic voices in what is commonly known as the horror genre, encouraging an elevation of the genre through film discussion, question and answer sessions, panels, and other presentations.

Since opening our doors in November of 2010, Horrible Imaginings founder Miguel Rodriguez has become a respected scholar and programmer in the San Diego community. Horrible Imaginings has been asked to curate or introduce programs for UCSD’s Artpwr, FilmOut San Diego, the San Diego Latino Film Festival, The San Diego Opera, The San Diego Asian Film Festival, The San Diego Italian Film Festival, Midnight Madness screenings at The Ken Cinema, a monthly film series at the San Diego Public Library, Film Geeks screenings at the Digital Gym Cinema, and more. Rodriguez has also appeared several times as an expert on KPBS, the local public radio station. This exposure, as well as quality programming, has led to a loyal community of regular audience members who return year after year to Horrible Imaginings Events.

On September 11-13 2015, the Horrible Imaginings Film Festival returns to San Diego for the sixth time. We are thrilled to call San Diego’s wonderful Museum of Photographic Arts (MOPA) our new home. Right in the midst of San Diego’s most beloved tourist spot, Horrible Imaginings Film Festival promises to be a force in San Diego that is here to stay. As audience member Doug Lathrop put it, “San Diego is too sunny! We need some darkness!”

GRAB YOUR TICKETS TO HORRIBLE IMAGININGS HERE!

Presentations

Dellamorte dellamore aka Cemetery man on 35mm

Often heralded as one of the last of the great Italian arthouse horror films, Del-lamorte Dellamore, aka Cemetery Man, is a hallucinatory journey through the comic book town of Buffalora. Rupert Everett (A Midnight Summer’s Dream, The Importance of Being Earnest, Shrek 2) stars as a cemetery caretaker who counts dealing with the recently revived dead as one of his many duties.

This will be the very first 35mm presentation from Horrible Imaginings Film Festival, and we couldn’t think of a better title to start off our new capabilities now that we call The Museum of Photographic Arts our home! Cemetery Man truly is a work of art, and we are so thankful to offer San Diego the opportunity to see it in this format! Saturday, September 12th at 9:30pm. 

35mm print courtesy of the Sundance Collection at the UCLA Film & Television Archive

Bluebeard (1944) on 35mm

A very rare 35mm presentation of Edgar G. Ulmer’s film BLUEBEARD from 1944! Horror icon John Carradine stars as Gaston Morrell, a puppeteer and puppet artist with a penchant for strangulation! Little do the people of Paris know that he is the infamous serial killer the papers call Bluebeard! Part noir, part arthouse, all terror!

This screening includes a panel on the life of director Edgar G. Ulmer (The Black Cat, Detour). Ulmer’s amazing daughter Arianne Ulmer Cipes, as well as his biographer Noah Isenberg will join us to discuss the life and work of this artist, whose work is finally enjoying a bit of a renaissance of appreciation.

Sunday, September 13th at 7:00pm. 

Feature and short film blocks

Horrible Imaginings Film Festival has always been a supporter of the local San Diego film community, offering slots designated to spotlight filmmakers in and around San Diego county. These films are spread throughout the festival program.

Feature Film: Valley of the Sasquatch

After losing their home following a devastating tragedy, a father and son are forced to move to an old family cabin. Neither reacts well to being thrown into this new world. The son’s attempts to relate to his father are complicated when two old friends arrive for a weekend of hunting. This trip into the forest will unearth not only buried feelings of guilt and betrayal, but also a tribe of Sasquatch that are determined to protect their land.

Feature film: Mexico barbaro

With contributions from Isaac Ezban (The Incident), Laurette Flores Bornn, Jorge Michel Grau (We Are What We Are), Ulises Guzman, Edgar Nitro, Lex Ortega, Gigi Saul Guerrero and Horrible Imaginings Alumnus Aaron Soto (Omega Shell), México Bárbaro “presents to the world stories that form a part of our culture, and even some that have haunted us and gave nightmares since childhood, even those which took away our innocence. Stories of boogeymen, trolls, ghosts, creatures, Aztec sacrifices, and of course our most beloved tradition, Day of the Dead, all come together in urban and rural settings to create an anthology that is as original as it is shocking.”

Included in this block is a panel all about the special scares that come from Mexico. Confirmed guests are filmmakers Gigi Saul Guerrero, Aaron Soto, and Mauricio Chernovetzky!

Feature film: Caedes: Forestglade of Death

Dan and his three ex-soldier friends decide to spend a relaxing vacation camping in a beautiful forestglade. Rest and relaxation turned into a wild night of drinking, only to have a rude awakening! Panic and hysteria spreads after a young woman is bitten by a camper with his bare teeth. In total confusion and pure fear, people try to find refuge in the forest… And this is where they find absolute evil! It just wouldn’t be a proper horror show without wild zombie carnage, would it? Good thing director Slavko Spionjak also uses some clever humor and a deft bloody hand to bring us this splatstick zomedy from Germany!

Child’s nightmares short film block

Short films that deal with boogiemen, children in peril, and more! Many of us gain our love for horror as children, and can only still feel scared by remembering what it’s like to be a kid.

Friday, September 11th 

Starting at 5:00pm

5:19 – Letting by Hannah Forman
5:22 – The Whisperers by Jason Miller
5:40 – The Smiling Man by AJ Briones
5:47 – Shhh by Shervin Shoghian and Freddy Chavez Olmos ?
5:58 – Howl of a Good Time by Patrick Rea
6:07 – La Ropavejera (The Huckster) by Nacho Ruipére

Special Showcases

LGBT Showcase

A block of films, one short film and one feature, that look at horror from the perspective of filmmakers who are in the LGBT community.

7:25 – Sanguine Craving

Marc must kill his first victim but he’s afraid he might not to feel the sanguine craving.

7:40 – Feature Film: You’re Killing Me

An intriguing mix of horror and romantic comedy, You’re Killing Me, reviewed here,  demonstrates what happens when narcissistic, wannabe Internet star George meets Joe, a monotone serial killer.)

Horror-comedy short film block

There is nothing quite like the combination of horror and comedy. It’s like peanut butter an jelly. The same primal part of ourselves that is attracted to fear seems to revel in poking fun at that fear. Join us for a look at films that take horrific events or ideas and use them to find hilarity!

Saturday, September 12th,

starting at 12 noon

12:00 Local Spotlight: The Appointment by Pia Thrasher
12:09 The Bunny Man by Eve Edelson
12:21 Potty Mouth by Darren Langlands
12:28 The Platinum Plan! by Chris Pick-enpaugh
12:33 Balloon by Frank H. Woodward (Premiere!)
12:38 Viande Rouge by Fernando Gonzalez
12:43 The Revenant by Victor Druillet
12:51 The Barber’s Cut by Mark Brocking
1:03 Invaders by Jason Kupfer
1:09 ClownTown: Bombo & Flopsy in, An Honest Mis-stake by John Skipp and Andrew Kasch
1:22 Reborn, or The Young Woman and the Snail by David Halphen

Creature features short film block

Ok, they aren’t features, but putting the two words “creature features” together just gives so many good feelings, doesn’t it? For many of us, the creature feature contains the true charm of the horror genre. The fantastical, the fairy tale, science fiction, monsters the things that go bump in the night!

Saturday, September 12th,

starting at 1:40pm

1:45 NO TURNING BACK from Dreams in the Witch House

1:49 Wurms by Heidi Moore
1:57 Rats! by Stewart Sparke
2:01 The Peripheral by JT Seaton
2:12 Chomp by Lynne Hansen
2:24 Sleepwalker by Calvin Weaver
2:38 Hag by Erik Gardner
2:54 Mr. Dentonn by Ivan Villamel Sanchez
3:03 El Gigante by Gigi Saul Guerrero 

Natural born killers short film block

Part of a two-block section exploring supernatural horrors in contrast to more real-life type monsters. The “Natural Born Killers” block looks at the latter, and yes madness can sometimes make things seem supernatural when they aren’t. Many people argue that these are scarier because “they could really happen.” What do you think? Lots of local San Diego talent on display here!

Sunday, September 13th,

starting at 12 noon 

12:00 – Footprints by Kevin Saychareun
12:14 — Local Spotlight: Diary of a Serial Killer by Ryan Casselman
12:19 – Boomslang by Tiffany Wu
12:22 – Local Spotlight: Hatred by Brian Butler
12:37 – Local Spotlight: Never to Heaven by David Raines
12:44 – Bunny by Adam Awni

Supernatural short film block

Part of a two-block section exploring supernatural horrors in contrast to more real-life type monsters. The “Supernatural” block looks at the former ghosts, apparitions, unexplained phenomena, psychic abilities, and more. For many people, this is what horror is all about the fear that comes with uncertainty about the unknown. What do you think?

Sunday, September 13th,

starting at 1:20pm

1:25 – Local Spotlight: AfterImage by Greg Lowe
1:29 – Shi by Pablo Absento
1:37 – Local Spotlight: Sleep Walker by Alfredo Morales
1:43 – El Aura Azul by Andy Harbeck
1:52 – Local Spotlight: Lady in the Walls by Brent Bokovoy
2:02 – Thorn by Soichi Umezawa
2:18 — Ghost Train by Lee Cronin

Animated short film block

We love animation. It can be used for so many different things, from surrealism to comedy. Horrible Imaginings has always managed to have some animated short films as part of the program, but this will be our first time dedicating an entire block to this very special form of art. I personally cannot wait for it!

Sunday, September 13th,

starting at 4:40pm

4:45 The Bloodening by Aaron Robson
4:47 Kali by Shweta Bendre
4:49 Beyond the Treeline by Andrew Goh
4:53 Dark Shadows by Paula Morales Plaza
4:55 Downtown by Tran Nguyen Tuan Anh
4:57 Chi-Ken by Andrei Sopon
5:00 Lunch Hour by Trevor Hardy
5:03 Marrying the Sea by Sarah Walsh
5:00 In the Tall Grass by Alexii Muftoll
5:15 Mute by Job Roggeveen, Joris Oprins, and Marieke Blaauw
5:19 The Straw Man by Emily Whittingham
5:22 Cogas by Michela Anedda
5:32 The Last Resort by Stephanie Blakey
5:40 Office Kingdom by Salvatore Centoducati, Eleonora Bertolucci, Giulio De Toma, Ruben Pirito

Youth and Student Showcase

Horrible Imaginings is proud to announce what we hope will be an ongoing tradition: the inclusion of a youth (under 18) and student film block of films!

Saturday, September 12th 

Starting at 3:20pm

3:25 – We All Go the Same (music video by 15-year-old Morgana McKenzie)
3:29 – The Legend of Carter Street (short film by 16-year-old John Capizzano IV)
3:35 – Feature Film: Thanatos (student feature by Hsin-Yen LU)